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A delicate flower bloomed under the dusted heat in Guili Plains.
The gorgeous red petals and the breath-taking scent could pull any careless passer-by in. The plant had fragile leaves, crisping away from touch. The aura of the person you love, it captures the essence perfectly. A cruel but gorgeous part of nature, it really is. But under those beautiful covers, laid in the stem of such flower loomed death.
Zhongli had come across this flower, a very many times actually. But the plant had little to no affect on him, he never really had much in heart - not since Guizhong or the Archon War in general. So, he was surprised to say the least when his soul forced himself to reach out for the flower the next time he saw it. At first, he tried to trudge away, the corrupted ley-line flowing in the plant could really mess his head up - and urge him to destroy all of Teyvat but he doesn't want to dwell on that. He couldn't control it anymore, his hand was already on the leaf, trailing to pluck it from the stem.
What could he possibly love so much that all his strength could not constrain his movement?
But once his gloved-fingers were around the stem, too late to stop the impurity entering his blood vessels, he feels a familiar aura, hallucinates a familiar laugh and gets enveloped by a familiar warmth.
Of course, he really did love Childe after all.
The corruption takes over completely in the next ten minutes. Liyue faces the wrath of their not-so-actually-dead god, raining destruction, killing civilians and much more in the span on an hour. Half of the city was drained of life, barely anything coming onto the borders alive.
You'd assume the adepti would stop Morax - or what's left of his soul. But they couldn't. They had contracts and it was their god in the end. They can't just kill him off, and even if they could, they wouldn't. Rex Lapis orders the adepti to kill anything that rebels against him, and they have no choice but to obey. The Liyue Qixing has fallen, so has all of Liyue. Sumeru and Mondstadt follow after in the next few weeks.
The archons were no match for Morax, even if they worked together. He's still the strongest, and the corruption was doing nothing but strengthening him. Celestia didn't give a shit about what's happening in Teyvat. They could always start a new world from scratch either way.
Mondstadt had it worst, most of all. The city of freedom, locked away in the cage that Morax put them in. Venti had to reveal who he was to everyone, in order to protect the freedom his friend had died for. A few shocked screams, a few "I knew it"s and a battle strategy to stop a god face-to-face being made.
On the day of the planed final fight, Venti sees Xiao, blood coated everywhere - and most of it wasn't even his. Venti's first intuition was that Morax forced Xiao into doing this - slaughtering innocent. Because Xiao would never do that of his own will.
"Join us, Alatus, Xiao. Please," Venti pleaded, and Xiao firstly stared at Venti's new outfit. Of course, the wings were gorgeous - he trimmed them himself! But, that's not the major topic at the moment.
"I can't. Barbatos, I have a contract." Xiao denied, spear in his hand - ready to attack Barbatos if necessary.
"It won't hurt to break it. So many people are dying. Children are dying, Xiao." Venti retried, hoping Xiao would give up on that contract bullshit and help him.
"The contract, Barbatos! The contract." Venti always had his hopes too high for Xiao.
"So, a piece of paper is more important than-" Venti sputters, the wind blowing a bit harsher than it was a few minutes before. "-than all the people losing their lives here? More important than- than- us?"
"Us? Barbatos, there wasn't and never will be an 'us' anymore." Xiao probably didn't mean it, saying that as an act to make sure he doesn't get too attached. But, it kind of stung Venti's heart when he heard that come out of Xiao's mouth.
Xiao dissipates away, and Venti leads the army to Morax's lair - or whatever place he lives in. The war lasts for two days straight, people were exhausted but their advances weren't in vain - they were making some type of difference. The battle is not going to end any time soon, and there were already way too many losses. Thank lord the adepti haven't arrived, yet. Or else, they might've lost once they got here.
Venti is face-to-face with Morax, his dark glow just confirms the amount of corruption flowing through his veins. They fought, vigilantly and furiously. Both, for their own morals. Morax was injured - so was Venti but he still had the energy and strength to move around the same speed he did when the war began.
Morax does his signature move, and Venti feared that this might come. He throws his weapon, at unhuman speeds that it could pierce through mountains like they were nothing. His spear headed straight to Venti - too late to dodge, and no amount of wind could block it off.
Venti just freezes in spot, scared that this might be the end - oh, how he failed his friend and his city. But, once he estimated the spear to slice through his limbs, he felt nothing. Instead, he's shielded by Xiao, the weapon impaling the adeptus right through the stomach. At first, Venti's too shocked to scream. Once his senses returned, he stares horrified at Xiao - his wound looks, let's just say, very fatal.
"Don't worry, I can heal it. Now, go save your nation." Xiao brushes off, enveloping Venti in an awkward hug and letting go. Venti takes his bow swiftly, aiming his strongest arrow right at his target and lets go. There was a moment of suspense, extremely long silence.
First, there was the bow. Second, the arrow. Then, Morax falls off his throne, his body burning to ash. Finally, there were screams - of victory, pride, happiness, freedom. They won, they did it! It's over!
"We won. Xiao! We won!" Venti rejoiced, his arms severely injured and his legs barely functioning but once he turns around, Xiao is still stabbed in the stomach, bleeding out on the grazed grass - barely healing like he told Venti he could do.
"Your karmetic dept, it's oozing out. Why didn't you tell me it got this bad? I could've played a song." Venti screams, kneeling beside where Xiao was, terrified to see his injury up-close since he was occupied with fighting the last time.
"This is my second-" Xiao coughs, and Venti remembers this scene all too well. Wars always shook a core memory in him. "-second chance for freedom. Let it be."
"Stop talking, save your breath. Someone, a healer over here!" Venti brings Xiao's head onto his lap, caressing his hair while he shouts for any nearby healers who weren't distracted by any other patients.
"It's okay." Xiao shushes Venti from shouting, pressing his palm on Venti's face.
"No, Xiao, just- just be quiet for a moment." Venti retorts, putting light pressure on Xiao's wound to stop at least a bit of the blood loss.
"I'm a bit tired." Xiao almost falls asleep, not from exhaustion - yes, also because of exhaustion but his injuries were a bigger cause.
"Don't fall asleep, stay- come on, stay with me. Let's talk then." Venti nods his head, tears welling up but he still managed to push them down for at least a little longer.
Xiao's bleeding was getting too excessive, his karmetic dept draining both his energy and the amount of oxygen entering his body. Venti knew that he wouldn't last much longer, and no amount of healers were going to be enough to save him. Xiao probably thought the same.
"Do you know what my first chance of freedom is?" Xiao starts, his eyes smiling, even when his body could not anymore. He coughs, and chokes and Venti just watches, just like he did at the Archon War many decades ago.
"What- what was your first chance then, Alatus?" Venti doesn't even know how he hasn't cried yet, his hands clamped around Xiao's extremely pale ones.
"You." To that, Venti shattered, and so did all the life left in Xiao's body. Nothing processable, except the smell of death and the lifeless stare on the Yaksha's body. At least, this time he was strong enough to bury him where he wanted to.
A new statue was constructed in Mondstadt's rebuilding - two to be exact. A stone-and-marble mixture of Xiao, only a few meters high since Venti requested it to not be too big. He wanted it to be huggable, a shoulder that was the right size so he could lean against it.
Another was the old Barbatos statue, the same size, the same materials and the same posture. Venti sits on it often, just like he used to. Reminiscing a lot, about everything he's been through, and everything he hasn't.
On the border of Liyue-Mondstadt, the place where Morax and the last Yaksha were slain. Also the place where many lost their lives, trying to defend the morals they stand for.
A delicate flower bloomed under the moist winds in the edge of Mondstadt.
This time it loomed more life than it ever could death. The gorgeous mixture of greenish-white petals and the so-very familiar aura always pulled Venti to the area, no matter how much it hurt him to remember. Although it's been months after the war, there's still the crisp aura of Xiao's soul. Venti comes by every week, voicing songs and leaving gifts, hoping that it'd make sure Xiao passes by happily at least. Venti doesn't forget to give Zhongli the same treatment, even with their differences - they were close friends.
"Really can't gain freedom without losing someone along the way, right?" Venti looks up and sees a Fatui Harbinger, assumingly the eleventh. Venti remembers his name, it's Tartaglia, right? He was pretty close with Zhongli. And it was then, Venti notices the glaze lily the Harbinger put beside Morax's grave. Ah, they were pretty close, indeed.
"At least, we all found our freedom, didn't we?" Venti sighs, leaving a wrapped-up present on Xiao's grave, piling up with the ones he left the week before. "Hopefully, everything's okay now. The cursed flower won't bloom anymore till the next decade."
Another decade has passed and the flower springs up again. But, not in Liyue nor in Mondstadt like everyone assumed it to be.
A delicate flower blooms under the raging lightning of Narukami.
A wandering kitsune, going by Yae finds the plant, a gorgeous and thunderous purple coat. It reminds her of Ei - feisty and electric waves, flowing through its stem. She can't help but touch it and the cycle is now forced to continue.
Loneliness is a curse, a rather cruel one, isn't it?